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Cool Seasonal Opt-In from Dell

December 7th, 2009

While shopping for some new computer equipment, I came across Dell’s “Days of Deals“ promotion. Basically, 8 days of special discounts, with new products being featured each day. Some cool items, but what impressed me more was the email sign-up process they had. Starting with a simple call out to be reminded of the new deals each day.

The next page had a great preference section that was obviously specific to this particular promotion. I was able to indicate if I wanted reminders for Laptops, Desktops, Monitors, etc. You’ll see in the screen grab below that they have large visuals for each of the options which is a nice touch. Not only is it more usable, but seeing the products makes a user more likely to want to receive updates on them — tech “eye candy” if you will.

They offer an opt-in check box to subscribe to additional offers and also allow you to subscribe to mobile reminders. On the confirmation page though, Dell had a really cool move of providing links to “Shop Now” for the categories I selected to receive updates on. Sounds like common sense, however many retailers take you to a general thank-you page and you have to navigate your way to certain products. Dell does a nice job here of making it easy for the user to get where they likely want to go and retain visitors while they are in the buying mindset.

Great opt-in process from Dell here. They stay consistent with their brand and usability of their site, offer a reason to opt-in to their list, provide user preference options so they can further segment and provide more sophisticated dynamic content, and they integrate the process with other site goals. One quick area of improvement would be on the first page where you click “Need a Reminder…” and then go to the opt-in page. I would recommend having a quick sign-up here (have a field to enter your email address) accompanied by a button reading: “Click to subscribe and select product preferences” — or something to that effect. By doing this they likely increase their opt-in conversion rate by acquiring more sign-ups from the main page and drawing additional attention to the fact that there is an email sign-up option.

The next post will focus on the reminder emails deployed during their campaign.

Cheers,

Forest

Questions or thoughts? Feel free to leave a comment below or shoot me an email.

Posted in Analysis of Live Emails, B2C, Dynamic Content, List Building/Opt-In, Personalization, Promotions, Retail Email, Segmentation | No Comments »

24 Hour Fitness vs. LA Fitness

October 1st, 2009

Back in June, I discussed how 24h Fitness was starting to make a comeback with their email efforts after dropping the ball when email was needed the most. Well they have been right now top of it every since, but with inconsistent promotions.

I seem to get some email promotions for a $9.99 Initiation Fee + $29.99/month, and then different weeks I’ll get an email for a $0 Initiation Fee + $29.99/month. All with the same subject line: “Membership Special”

But it was a bit too late as I recently signed a longer term commitment with LA Fitness (the nicer of the gyms in my particular area). The problem with the LA Fitness email program is they don’t have one — at least they didn’t ask for my email at all during my registration process for my 3 year membership. Perhaps they are thinking that the sale is already closed. If so, their email department needs a wake-up call. There are many relevant email communications such as class update/schedules, fitness tips, up-sell/cross-sell opportunities, refer-a-friend promotions and more!

Before rushing to judgment though, I will investigate further to see if there is in fact a members email list (or any email list for that matter). It could have just been a slip-up not asking me to sign up.

Stay tuned…

Forest

Posted in Analysis of Live Emails, B2C, Promotions, Red Flag Mistakes | No Comments »

Nice Promo from Lucky Brand

September 15th, 2009

Often times email promotions are watered down and don’t provide much incentive to act. With so much email coming in these days, a sub-par discount isn’t going to get much attention. This is one reason I’m a fan of testing content that isn’t just discount/promo focused.

This doesn’t mean there is not a place for discounts — of course there is. Just don’t make it bland. 5% off doesn’t cut it. Make it exclusive for your email list and they will feel more rewarded.

The email below from Lucky Brand is a few weeks old, but it is a nice example of an attention-grabbing discount. It also gives you the option to print and bring in to the store, or use online. I would use a different promo-code though as 9SEPFRND is not the easiest to remember — could be much worse with a completely random string of letters and numbers, but could be improved to something like LUCKY30.

Cheers,

Forest | Follow Me on Twitter

Posted in Analysis of Live Emails, B2C, Design, Promotions, Retail Email | No Comments »

Cool Labor Day Email from Blinds.com

September 2nd, 2009

I’m digging the email layout from Blinds.com! Clear promo, CTA on left fold, easy to remember discount code, clean design — Very Nice!

I think the timing is good as well. This email arrived on Tuesday morning, which gives me some time to review and act before the rushed weekend of holiday travel. I would expect a follow-up email; either a trigger if I don’t click-through, or an “In case you missed our Labor Day Sale…” type message.

Great (and improved) email execution from Blinds.com! One thing I’m curious about though is their overall content approach. On first glance, it appears that the vast majority of their emails are either seasonal-based promotions or special discounts either store-wide or brand-specific. What about educational content, design tips, product features and the like? Often times more sales come from a non-sales approach. If I get engaged, get some ideas, and start reviewing my windows more, I may be much more likely to purchase than if I get a nice promo but don’t know what I need or that there could be something I want. Blinds.com sells products that are perfect for more juicy content that can better leverage the email channel.

At any rate; nice work on the email below.

Cheers,

Forest

Posted in Analysis of Live Emails, B2C, Design, Promotions, Retail Email | No Comments »

Wynn Comes Close to Great Email

July 29th, 2009

In a previous post I discussed how Wynn Las Vegas was dropping the ball by making it very tricky to get on their email list. It was later discovered that they actually do have a sign-up form on their website. You have to click Guestbook and then fill out 4 required fields.

The focus of this post though is on a pre-trip email from Wynn’s Encore. A friend of mine will be visiting the new resort next week (I’m jealous I couldn’t make this trip!) A week before the arrival date he received an email from the concierge which got us talking about Wynn’s email strategy here.

Subject: During Your Upcoming Stay at Encore at Wynn Las Vegas.

Body of Email (Click to Enlarge)

Landing Page (Click to Enlarge)

Anyone who spots the first problem of why a user has to click through to see any content gets points.

Comments & Suggestions

1. Approach: I love it! For a resort like the Wynn/Encore, there should absolutely be a high level of personalized email communication that is consistent with the level of service they provide. They are on the right track here, but still several steps away from a solid strategy (some steps being beyond the scope of this post).

2. Improved Approach: What I would do here though is have the focuses of this email separated into two campaigns. On one end they are offering a personalized welcome message. This is great and absolutely needed. Make it personal and have it directly from the concierge. On the other end they are offering recommendations and using the email channel as a cross-sell opportunity. This is also fantastic and justified for its own send. Provide some timely recommendations for shows, dinner specials, new casino games etc. (Of course even better if they integrate data from previous customer behavior to make it more of a rifle/blow-dart approach). But at the very least, do let me know about other ways I can enjoy my stay — and provide direct links to make reservations etc.

3. Email Body: Now why would Encore not just have the main content in the body of the email? Here they have an image of an envelope to click through to a landing page with the actual content. Some might argue that since this is going to registered hotel guests, the click-through-rate should be off the charts. Yes – this is very true, however it will not be a 100% CTR. They could be attempting to build excitement and value once you do actually click — but I think much more can be accomplished with a well structured main email.

…This email got me very excited about all the opportunities a resort like the Wynn has with the email channel. They are on the right track with this transactional approach, but still miles away from a top-notch program. I do hope they put in the time to make improvements to their strategy and execution as I know it will pay big dividends.

- Forest Bronzan

Questions or inputs? Feel free to leave a comment or shoot me an email.

Posted in Analysis of Live Emails, B2C, Design, Landing Pages, Personalization, Promotions | No Comments »

24 Hour Fitness vs. LA Fitness

Nice Promo from Lucky Brand

Cool Labor Day Email from Blinds.com

Wynn Comes Close to Great Email

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